Creating Monsters with N. R. Williams

I want to thank Nicole for being a host on my blog book tour. It means a lot to me.

Why create a new monster instead of using a mythical creature? It’s fun. I can develop the monster in anyway I like. I don’t have to use existing mythology to guide me in their behavior. I can have the animals be good or evil. My monsters, the symberveen, are animals with an uncertain past. But because of their inherent abilities, they can be used as evil pawns by my villain, Renwyk.

When I began the process of writing “The Treasures of Carmelidrium,” I knew I wanted a new monster, something that hadn’t been done before, but something that would be believable. The first criterion for me was to think in terms of what the role would be for my monsters. I knew they had to be big. I also knew that they would be beast, so for the monsters themselves, they would just act out as normal animals following their own behavior patterns.

Enter the antagonist (villain). He is a man who is born with the ability to communicate with my monsters that I named “symberveen.”

Why did I name them symberveen? I thought about anger. Renwyk is angry, he has issues. Anger brought me to fire, which is often a symbol of anger. Fire brought me to simmer, as over the stove and that gave me the name. Symberveen.

The symberveen were roughly modeled after Big Foot. Over seven feet tall, hairy, they live in family groups in the northern area of Gil-Lael, the alternate world I created. That is where the similarities end. The symberveen have almost human arms and fingers with claws. They have a bear like muzzle and poison in their saliva, under their claws and in their black blood. They project psychic nightmares so their prey becomes disorientated and easily caught. The male symberveen fight among themselves, so it is a rare event that they hunt together.

My villain, Renwyk, can control the symberveen and communicate with them mentally. Thus he is able to turn these monsters into a powerful force to do his bidding.

The people in Gil-Lael have developed a psychic shield that automatically comes up when they are in close proximity to the symberveen. This protects their minds from the nightmares that the symberveen project. Our American heroine, Missie, doesn’t have this shield. She is in grave danger from the symberveen.

Do you have questions about creating a monster that I haven’t covered? I’ll be stopping by all day to answer in the comments.

I will be giving away 3 e-books to 3 winners. Just follow the tour, leave a comment and include your e-mail address with each comment. On Feb. 1, 2011, I will draw the winners, announce the winners on my blog and email the winners. The more you comment, the better your chances.

Jan. 7…Friday, Author interview: Deirdra Eden Coppel at A Story Book World
Jan 10…Monday, Interview with the Protagonist (heroine), Missie: Michael De Gesu at In time…
Jan 11…Tuesday, Mythical Creatures: Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough blogs
Jan 12…Wednesday, World Building for Fantasy & Sci Fi: Marian Allen at Marian Allen
5. Jan. 13…Thursday, Creating Monsters: Nicole Zoltack at Where Fantasy and Love Take Flight
Jan. 14…Friday, Tension & Humor, a balancing act: Jean Henry Mead at Make Mine Mystery
Jan. 17…Monday, What are the Treasures of Carmelidrium? Summer Ross at My Inner Fairy
Jan. 18…Tuesday. Interview with an elf: Patricia Stoltey at Chiseled in Rock,
Jan. 19…Wednesday, Jan. 19, Interview with the antagonist (villain), Renwyk, Lord of the Symberveen: Colene Murphy at The Journey
Jan. 20…Thursday, Interview with Galen, Scout of Gil-Lael: The Golden Eagle at The Eagles Aerial Perspective
Jan 21…Friday, Plot vs Character Driven in Genre Writing: Mason Canyon at Thoughts in Progress
Jan. 24…Monday, Character Driven vs World Driven in Fantasy & Sci Fi:
Helen Ginger at Straight From Hel
Jan 25…Tuesday, Playing the “What If” Game: Dominic de Mattos at Writes of Passage
Jan 26…Wednesday, …What inspired me to write about music as a power and why the flute: Clarissa Draper at Listen To The Voices
Jan 27…Thursday. What Elements are in the Story? (Romance, Suspense, Mystery?) Denise at L’Aussie Writing
Jan 28…Friday, Why I Write Fantasy: Jeffrey Beesler at Jeffrey Beesler’s World of the Scribe
Jan. 31…Monday, Why You Should Hire an Editor & Professional Illustrator: (Sherry Wachter illustrated by book so there should be some interesting discussion between us.)
Sherry Wachter who writes as Bodie Parkhurst at Magic Dog Press 

About N. R. Williams

N. R. Williams lives in Colorado, U.S.A. with her husband. She is delighted to have two three year old grandchildren, cousins. She's a long time member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and has been privileged to attend conferences and workshops. Since her formative years, she's been inventing fantastical stories and since she could spell she's been writing them down. While she majored in art in college, she didn't make a living at it. Now, she uses her skills of observation to create fantastical worlds, interesting characters and stories that touch the heart.